Partners in business and in life, Doug and Hannah live and work in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland – sharing their love of slip decorated earthenware and historical, traditional pottery. Their workshop is situated deep in the countryside and the surrounding natural environment fills him with inspiration and wonder.

Doug Fitch

Doug works in red earthenware clay, the pots simply decorated, with appliqué decoration or sgrafitto, using a basic palette of traditional slips, made from natural raw materials. His pots are thrown on the wheel and then fired either in a electric kiln or in a kiln fuelled with wood.

The forms, predominantly large jugs, draw influence from the work of the medieval potters of England and the subsequent tradition of slip decorated country pottery, that was prevalent in this country until the early twentieth century. The skills presented by the master craftspeople of the past set an extraordinary high standard to which the contemporary maker must aspire. To seek to find one’s own distinctive voice amongst many who are using the same language, is a challenge that Doug takes upon himself each and every day.

I’ve been making pots for most of my life. It’s a strange thing, to be excited by something as simple as a brown clay jug and I can’t explain it, but it seems that it happens to some people; it just gets under your skin.

Hannah McAndrew

An award winning Scottish potter, Hannah McAndrew produces hand thrown earthenware pots using the traditional techniques of slip trailing, sgrafitto and firing with wood, to create a contemporary range of pots.

Britain boasts a particularly fine tradition of slipware pottery. I draw on this rich heritage and use it as the basis for my own work, where I attempt to capture the essence of these historical pieces, reinterpreted in a contemporary style.

Predominantly, I make pots with a purpose. However, I enjoy the challenge of creating a piece that will not simply perform its task well, but will be attractive to the eye and instil a sense of comfort and warmth to its surroundings. My pots are thrown in red earthenware clay and decorated using coloured slips. The decoration is applied to the surface of the pot by use of a slip trailer, while the surface is still glistening wet. Sometimes I allow the slipped surface to dry a little, so that I can inscribe motifs with sgrafitto lines. These slips are subsequently enhanced by the addition of a layer of rich honey glaze.